The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 678 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,686 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 678 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Westlake were worth $3,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WLK. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,179,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Westlake during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,154,000. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 3,330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 150,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $23,802,000 after acquiring an additional 145,673 shares during the period. Natixis lifted its holdings in shares of Westlake by 41,979.2% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 85,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,988,000 after acquiring an additional 84,798 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Westlake by 2,218.4% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 67,884 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $10,372,000 after purchasing an additional 64,956 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.40% of the company’s stock.

Westlake Trading Down 2.4 %

WLK opened at $142.10 on Wednesday. Westlake Co. has a twelve month low of $112.77 and a twelve month high of $162.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.92 and a 200-day moving average of $148.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 71.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. Westlake had a net margin of 2.27% and a return on equity of 7.84%. Westlake’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Westlake Co. will post 7.13 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 20th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is a boost from Westlake’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 20th. Westlake’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 105.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WLK. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Westlake from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Westlake in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Westlake from $172.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised shares of Westlake from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $162.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Westlake from $123.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Westlake presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.50.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.